00:00Hello and welcome. I'm Nageen Singh. This is One India. Today, it's October 7,
00:04one of the historic days when Hamas attacked Israel and more than 1200 people were killed.
00:12Now it is one year and we have Mr. Jordan Cope. He's joining us from US and he's a counterterrorism
00:20expert. He's an expert on Middle East and we want to understand with him that where is this war
00:25heading and will there be an end to this war or not? Well, thank you so much for joining us,
00:32Jordan. First question that I want to ask you that where is this war heading with Biden asking
00:40for restraints, France asking for restraints, West is asking for restraints to Israel,
00:47but Israel, I think they don't want to stop right now. So there always is an end to every war. The
00:53question is when that will commence. And Israel right now has existential threats that it must
01:00deal with coming from Iran, which has unleashed all of its proxies effectively from October 7th
01:06onwards. Israel currently is fighting a front, excuse me, a war of seven fronts, not just against
01:13Hamas and Hezbollah, but against the Houthis, against Iraqi militias and against other countries
01:19that have, excuse me, other factions that have participated in this front. And so what Israel
01:25must do is use the unfortunate momentum that was created from the October 7th attacks, seize it and
01:33make sure to clear all of these fronts off of its borders. Israel is unlike any other country today
01:40in which there are existential threats literally on its border. Hezbollah with 150,000 rockets,
01:46Hamas which unleashed one of the worst terrorist attacks in modern memory,
01:51not only killing 1,200 people, but resulting in the hostage taking of 250 others.
01:59It was an attack that was one of the worst in modern memory. And it should be noted, it was
02:05one of the worst attacks on humanity at large, with over 40 countries having had victims who
02:12were either killed or taken hostage. It's shameful that the West isn't supporting Israel
02:17more. It's shameful to hear that some Western countries are delaying arms shipments or even
02:22withholding them. But this is a war that is necessary, not just for Israel, not just for
02:28Israel's security, but for the integrity of Western values. But do you think it is a war between the
02:34religions? Of course, Saudis are not entering here. But do you think it is a war between the
02:40Jews and between Muslim nations, Muslim countries? I absolutely don't think it's that. Because Israel
02:47at the end of the day, 20% of its population is Arab, the vast majority of that Arab population
02:53being Muslim itself. There are certain affirmative action benefits for certain Muslim groups in
03:00Israel, such as Bedouins to serve within the Israeli Defence Forces. It's very questionable
03:06what even constitutes Muslim identity, because throughout the Middle East and North Africa,
03:12many would not consider Iran's version of Islam, Shia Islam, to be a pure form of Islam. And it's
03:19similar in terms of how India's identity manifests. India itself has many Muslims within its population,
03:25even though it's predominantly a Hindu country. And so this certainly isn't a war between Judaism
03:31versus Islam. Israel itself has peace agreements with many Muslim countries before and after the
03:39Abraham Accords. So it's important to realise what this is. It's an onslaught by Islamist factions
03:46and state sponsors of terrorism who endorse Islamist ideologies, such as Iran. And even though
03:53Qatar isn't classified as a state sponsor of terrorism, it should be. And so Islamist factions
03:59and state sponsors of terrorism who endorse Islamist ideologies who seek to ultimately
04:05promote Israel's demise and destruction. Right. How do you see the war, you know, turning around?
04:11Because now we have multiple factions who are attached to it. Even Russian PM was in Iran
04:19just the day before the attack on Israel. And China has made statements that the war should be
04:25stopped immediately. But of course, there is no stopping from Israel, no stopping from the
04:31resistance forces. And of course, Iran. So do you think there could be a world war if other countries
04:37like Russia get involved? And of course, US has sent their forces, some troops in Middle East. So
04:45is there any chance that it can, you know, trigger a World War Three? So as I believe the Fox
04:52correspondent Trey Yinks noted that wars never unfold as we expect them to. So it's obviously
04:58very difficult to predict how it will. I think for now, the war is relatively contained between Gaza,
05:05Lebanon, and what could be Iran in the future. I don't think Russia and China want to get too
05:11involved. China definitely has a lot of prospects in terms of the region, which might counteract
05:18that prediction in terms of its one belt one road and its maritime Silk Road and whatnot. So what's
05:26important to consider, at least right now, is that Russia, at least in Ukraine, definitely has its
05:31hands tied. China might have some prospects to intervene, but I doubt that it would. And I doubt
05:38that this US administration, as we currently speak, especially before elections, would want to
05:45war in the region with its troops on the ground. Unfortunately, Israel, for many decades now,
05:51has had to deal with all of these problems, these existential threats on its own. And the West
05:58needs to continue supplying Israel. They need to continue supporting Israel, not just because
06:04Israel is a bastion of hope as a democracy and the only democracy in the region, but a bastion
06:10for human rights and values that the West can get behind. And India, of course, as well.
06:15But the leaders like Kamala Harris, she said that what Netanyahu did is shameful, which is
06:22a very strong statement. There is another person, Trump, who is saying that you should hit the
06:29Iran nuclear sites as soon as possible, you should hit them first. So after November 5,
06:35there could be Kamala Harris or there could be Trump. What can happen after November 5?
06:41If Trump wins, if Kamala Harris wins? It's certainly a big question to be asked. The
06:47current administration, if that's any prediction for the future, has allegedly withheld or delayed
06:54arms shipments to Israel. So it's questionable how that will manifest in the future if the Harris
07:02administration bears any semblance to the current Biden administration, to which she is a part of.
07:10The Trump administration appears to have been a little more on the hawkish side. So I don't
07:17want to speak in advance and perhaps preempt or undermine any of their future agenda. But we have
07:24to use, I guess, the statements that are currently at display for our prediction. And it seems that
07:30the Harris administration might be a little more dovish, might even withhold or delay arms
07:35shipments. The Trump administration, on the other hand, might be more hawkish and supportive of war
07:41efforts. That being said, what his administration, not his administration, but what he has also said
07:48in the meantime, effectively, is that Israel needs to get this war over with sooner than later. And so
07:54how to interpret that, especially before elections, is certainly a question to be
07:59had. But it definitely seems he's more hawkish. But November 5 is going to be an important date
08:04for this war that is going on in the Middle East. Certainly. And I actually think that once November
08:105th passes, there is a possibility that these presidential candidates might actually be even
08:18more expressive for Israel once the swing states are decided and they no longer have to, I guess,
08:25kowtow to potential voters in those states. And they could be more genuine about how they really
08:31feel. OK, my last question, Jordan, how do you see Netanyahu's role? Do you think he has succeeded
08:38in this war or it has been a failure for him? We have seen massive protests against him in Israel.
08:45And of course, the hostages, they are still there, 100 hostages, at least, they are still
08:51under Hamas siege. So how do you see his role? How one defines victory in war is obviously a very
08:57challenging question. Initially, Israel's objectives were to free the hostages and to
09:02eliminate Hamas. Israel has since declared effectively that it has reduced Hamas from a
09:08military organization to a terrorist organization. It has effectively helped
09:14compel the rescue and or the liberation through ceasefire. I need to rephrase that.
09:24Israel has effectively reduced Hamas's capabilities from a military organization to a terrorist
09:30organization by one means or another. It has effectively helped rescue 148 hostages,
09:39unfortunately, 30 of them, the bodies whom Israel has recovered are deceased. But that being said,
09:47it has significantly reduced and instilled fear within terrorist organizations throughout the
09:52Middle East and has reminded terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East
09:57that Israel is no longer going to be on the defensive, that at times Israel will have to be
10:03on the offensive in terms of its self-defense in order to protect its civilians. And it will
10:10catch terrorists off guard as it did Hezbollah with the Pager attacks, one of the most precisely
10:16and well executed cyber attacks in modern day warfare. It's taken out significant Hamas leaders
10:23undermining their morale, including Mohammed Daif, including Ismail Haniya, including Hezbollah's
10:31Hassan Nasrallah, and it looks like Hashem Safi Yadin. These are significant losses to these
10:37terrorist organizations, once perceived as untouchables. And Israel has reminded these
10:43terrorists throughout the Middle East that there is unfortunately a new dawn that has arrived,
10:48and that Israel will no longer be in the shadows when it comes to these existential
10:54threats that seek to destroy it. And that also comes to Iran, which has sent now hundreds of
11:00missiles directly into Israel, completely transforming this proxy war into a direct
11:06confrontation. And as Israel showed when it struck the aerial defense systems outside of its nuclear
11:14facilities in Iran, this is a new precedent that has now arrived, and Israel will no longer wait
11:22for the threat to build up. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time, Jordan.
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